Immersion with mi familia tica

This past week has been filled with so many wonderful experiences. Firstly, I could not have asked for a better host family. They have treated me with so much respect and welcomed me into their home as if I was a family member. And the fact that they are a lot of fun is a plus! I love how much they value they’re time with family. Every night consists of not only spending time with the family who lives in the house but also have other extended family come over or going over to other relatives houses. I do not know many American families who do this. I would like to place emphasis on this value in my own family as well as for my future students. I also appreciate the effort my mama tica makes to teach me about their culture as well as the area they live in. Some nights we went walking around the area and she would tell me about the stores, the churches, community events, etc. Even though I cannot understand her sometimes I usually understand a few of the words and can get the gist of things. She also lets me help her cook! I can’t wait to go back home and make some of these meals myself! On my last night with my family, some of their other relatives came over to eat with us and we danced. It was one of the most fun nights I have had here. Also, in celebration of the Virgin Mary, fireworks were set off in the plaza. It was a great way to end my week with my wonderful tico family. On Saturday morning when it was time to leave, my mama tica walked me to the church and we said our goodbyes. I wish I could have told her how much a truly appreciated her but I did not know how to say it in English. Living with a family of an entirely different culture, that speaks an entirely different language has definitely opened me up. I am usually very shy and slow to warm up to people but I learned that in order to become immersed in this culture and get the full experience that I must “come out of my shell” and do my best to interact with my family, even with the language barriers. With that being said, I was very lucky to have a family that did their best to include me in everything and talk to me – they treated me as if I was part of the family. If and when I have students who speak another language in my classroom, I will definitely try my best to do for them what my tico family did for me. This trip has also given me more of an open mind to trying new things. Every chance I get, I try something new. Whether it’s a new a food in the market or restaurant, a new drink, a new dance (even though I’m not the best dancer), or just talking to someone new even if they speak a different language. I think in order to truly be immersed in this culture, it is imperative to try every new thing possible. I would like to relay this lesson to not only future students, but everyone. Trying new things opens the door to many things that you may love but never would have known before. I’m beyond excited to try every new thing I can that this country has to offer me.